Latest News from VoCALnation

What is going on with the Collaborative Recording?

We knew that it was time to re-energize this exciting part of the CASA festivals and find ways to involve more than a small group of people. But first, there are many things we aren’t changing:

The Collaborative Recording will still include the headlining professional group from the festival. It will also include some of the top groups included in the festival and some talented individual singers. The session is still about finding ways to collaborate and produce something innovative while supporting the mission of CASA to enhance the a cappella community and the experience of attendees at our festivals. Our changes are all to get more people involved in this incredible experience.

What we’ve done is to break things into a few, clearly defined roles.

Song Choice: This used to be the territory of a select few, and now absolutely ANY a cappella fan can be involved. Song choice is selected through a social media vote and is going on now, so make sure you watch our Facebook and Twitter feeds to add in your two cents!

Arrangement: We know there are a lot of amazing arrangers out there who might be struggling to get their name and work recognized or who just might be itching to arrange for the pros but haven’t yet made the connection. We’re giving arrangers just that chance by having the Collaborative Recording arrangement open up to multiple submissions. The arranger gets to pick from the top three songs from the social media contest, and the winner is picked by a panel of professionals. All applicants will receive feedback on their arrangement as well, so this is a win-win all around. As soon as the song is selected, you’ll see a form open up for arrangement submissions.

Sound Engineer: This is the biggie. It’s the chance to record, mix and master the pros (and some seriously talented groups.) Not only do you get the bragging rights of working with these amazing musicians and a track to put on your website (and recognition on the CASA websites) but we are providing a top tier producer to mentor you through the process. This will enhance and add to any weekend workshop you could attend and it is on the job training with some seriously high-quality talent.

Singers: The chance to participate and sing with the pros is something that will definitely continue, so make sure you purchase your Collaborative Recording Add-on to VoCALnation and look for that ticket opportunity at other festivals too. It’s amazing to watch these pros work, and we know your voice would be a great accompaniment, so sign up quickly as these tickets are limited.

Details for the Collaborative Recording at VoCALnation can be found here. You can find the CASA EP for previous Collaborative Recordings here or check out our songs on SoundCloud. If you’re interested in being a Mentor-Producer or Sound Engineer, don’t hesitate to reach out to kate@casa.org. These roles are limited so get involved soon!